Reformist Pezeshkian beats hard-liner to win Iran presidential election, promising outreach to West

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian won Iran’s runoff presidential election Saturday, besting hard-liner Saeed Jalili by promising to reach out to the West and ease enforcement on the country’s mandatory headscarf law after years of sanctions and protests squeezing the Islamic Republic.

Pezeshkian promised no radical changes to Iran’s Shiite theocracy in his campaign and long has held Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as the final arbiter of all matters of state in the country. But even Pezeshkian’s modest aims will be challenged by an Iranian government still largely held by hard-liners, the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, and Western fears over Tehran enriching uranium to near-weapons-grade levels with enough of a stockpile to produce several nuclear weapons if it chose.

A vote count offered by authorities put Pezeshkian as the winner with 16.3 million votes to Jalili’s 13.5 million in Friday’s election. Overall, Iran's Interior Ministry said 30 million people voted in an election held without internationally recognized monitors, representing a turnout of 49.6% — higher than the historic low of the June 28 first round vote but lower than other presidential races.

Supporters of Pezeshkian, a heart surgeon and longtime lawmaker, entered the streets of Tehran and other cities before dawn to celebrate as his lead grew over Jalili, a hard-line former nuclear negotiator. Pezeshkian later traveled to the mausoleum of the late Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and addressed journalists in a chaotic event.

“In this election, I didn’t give you false promises. I did not lie,” Pezeshkian said. “It’s been many years after the revolution that we come to the podium, we make promises and we fail to fulfill them. This is the biggest problem we have.”

Pezeshkian's win still sees Iran at a delicate moment, with tensions high in the Mideast and a looming election in the United States that could put any chance of a detente between Tehran and Washington at risk. Pezeshkian's victory also wasn't a rout of Jalili, meaning he'll have to carefully navigate Iran's internal politics as the doctor has never held a sensitive, high-level security post.

Government officials up to Khameni, the supreme leader, predicted higher turnout as voting got underway, with state television airing images of modest lines at some polling centers. However, online videos purported to show some polls empty while a survey of several dozen sites in Tehran saw light traffic and a heavy security presence on the streets.

Authorities counted 607,575 voided votes — which often are a sign of protest by those who feel obligated to cast a ballot but reject both candidates.

Khamenei praised the turnout Saturday despite what he alleged was a boycott campaign “orchestrated by the enemies of the Iranian nation to induce despair and a feeling of hopelessness.”

“I would like to recommend Dr. Pezeshkian, the elected president, put his trust in God, the Compassionate, and set his vision on high, bright horizons,” Khamenei added.

Voters expressed a guarded optimism.

“I don’t expect anything from him — I am happy that the vote put the brake on hard-liners," said bank employee Fatemeh Babaei, who voted for Pezeshkian. "I hope Pezeshkian can return administration to a way in which all people can feel there is a tomorrow.”

Taher Khalili, a Kurdish-origin Iranian who runs a small tailor shop in Tehran, offered another reason to be hopeful while handing out candy to passersby.

“In the end, someone from my hometown and the west of Iran came to power,” Khalili said. "I hope he will make economy better for small businesses.”

Pezeshkian, who speaks Azeri, Farsi and Kurdish, campaigned on outreach to Iran's many ethnicities. He represents the first president from western Iran in decades — something people hope will aid the country as those in the western part are considered more tolerant because of the ethnic and religious diversity in their area.

The election came amid heightened regional tensions. In April, Iran launched its first-ever direct attack on Israel over the war in Gaza, while militia groups armed by Tehran — such as the Lebanese Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi rebels — are engaged in the fighting and have escalated their attacks.

While Khamenei remains the final decision-maker on matters of state, Pezeshkian could bend the country’s foreign policy toward either confrontation or collaboration with the West.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, which has reached a detente with Iran, sent his congratulations to Pezeshkian that stressed his “keenness to develop and deepen the relations that bring our two countries and peoples together.” Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has relied on Iranian-made drones in his war on Ukraine, similarly congratulated Pezeshkian.

Responding to questions from The Associated Press, the U.S. State Department called the Iranian election “not free or fair" and noted that “a significant number of Iranians chose not to participate at all.”

“We have no expectation these elections will lead to fundamental change in Iran’s direction or more respect for the human rights of its citizens,” the State Department added. “As the candidates themselves have said, Iranian policy is set by the supreme leader.”

However, it said it would pursue diplomacy “when it advances American interests.”

Candidates repeatedly touched on what would happen if former President Donald Trump, who unilaterally withdrew America from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, won the November election. Iran has held indirect talks with President Joe Biden's administration, though there's been no clear movement back toward constraining Tehran's nuclear program for the lifting of economic sanctions.

Pezeshkian's win saw Iran's rial strengthen Saturday against the U.S. dollar, trading 603,000 to $1, down from 615,000 on Thursday. The rial traded 32,000 to $1 at the time the 2015 nuclear deal was reached.

Though identifying with reformists and relative moderates within Iran's theocracy during the campaign, Pezeshkian at the same time honored Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, on one occasion wearing its uniform to parliament. He repeatedly criticized the United States and praised the Guard for shooting down an American drone in 2019, saying it “delivered a strong punch in the mouth of the Americans and proved to them that our country will not surrender.”

The late President Ebrahim Raisi, whose death in a May helicopter crash sparked the early election, was seen as a protégé of Khamenei and a potential successor as supreme leader.

Still, many knew him for his involvement in the mass executions that Iran conducted in 1988, and for his role in the bloody crackdowns on dissent that followed protests over the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman detained by police over allegedly improperly wearing the mandatory headscarf, or hijab.

Vahdat reported from Tehran, Iran. Nasser Karimi in Tehran contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s global election coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/global-elections/

Reformist candidate for the Iran's presidential election Masoud Pezeshkian clenches his fist after casting his vote as he is accompanied by former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, left, at a polling station in Shahr-e-Qods near Tehran, Iran, Friday, July 5, 2024. Iranians are voting in a runoff election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a May helicopter crash in the country’s northwest along with the foreign minister and several other officials. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iran's President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian speaks in a meeting a day after the presidential election, at the shrine of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, just outside Tehran, Iran, Saturday, July 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iran's President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian speaks in a meeting a day after the presidential election, at the shrine of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, just outside Tehran, Iran, Saturday, July 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iran's President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian speaks in a meeting a day after the presidential election, at the shrine of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, just outside Tehran, Iran, Saturday, July 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iran's President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian speaks in a meeting a day after the presidential election, at the shrine of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, just outside Tehran, Iran, Saturday, July 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iran's President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian speaks in a meeting a day after the presidential election, at the shrine of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, just outside Tehran, Iran, Saturday, July 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iran's President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian speaks in a meeting a day after the presidential election, at the shrine of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, just outside Tehran, Iran, Saturday, July 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iran's President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian greets his supporters in a meeting a day after the presidential election, at the shrine of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, just outside Tehran, Iran, Saturday, July 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iran's President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian, center, arrives to attend a meeting a day after the presidential election, at the shrine of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, just outside Tehran, Iran, Saturday, July 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iran's President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian arrives to attend a meeting a day after the presidential election, at the shrine of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, just outside Tehran, Iran, Saturday, July 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iran's President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian hugs a boy in a meeting a day after the presidential election, at the shrine of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, just outside Tehran, Iran, Saturday, July 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iran's President-Elect Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a meeting a day after the presidential election, at the shrine of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, just outside Tehran, Iran, Saturday, July 6, 2024. Reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian won Iran's runoff presidential election Saturday, besting hard-liner Saeed Jalili by promising to reach out to the West and ease enforcement on the country's mandatory headscarf law after years of sanctions and protests squeezing the Islamic Republic. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A woman casts her vote for the presidential election in a polling station at the shrine of Saint Saleh in northern Tehran, Iran, Friday, July 5, 2024. Iran held a runoff presidential election on Friday that pitted a hard-line former nuclear negotiator against a reformist lawmaker. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A woman gets her ballot to vote for the presidential election in a polling station at the shrine of Saint Saleh in northern Tehran, Iran, early Saturday, July 6, 2024. Iran held a runoff presidential election on Friday that pitted a hard-line former nuclear negotiator against a reformist lawmaker. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A policeman casts his vote for the presidential election in a polling station at the shrine of Saint Saleh in northern Tehran, Iran, Friday, July 5, 2024. Iran held a runoff presidential election on Friday that pitted a hard-line former nuclear negotiator against a reformist lawmaker. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Candidate for the Iran's presidential election Saeed Jalili, a hard-line former nuclear negotiator, shakes hand with a supporter after casting his vote for the presidential runoff election in Qarchak near Tehran, Iran, Friday, July 5, 2024. Iran was holding a runoff presidential election Friday pitting a hard-line former nuclear negotiator against a reformist lawmaker, though both men earlier struggled to convince a skeptical public to cast ballots in the first round that saw the lowest turnout in the Islamic Republic's history. (AP Photo)

Candidate for the Iran's presidential election Saeed Jalili, a hard-line former nuclear negotiator, casts his vote for the presidential runoff election at a polling station in Qarchak near Tehran, Iran, Friday, July 5, 2024. Iran was holding a runoff presidential election Friday pitting a hard-line former nuclear negotiator against a reformist lawmaker, though both men earlier struggled to convince a skeptical public to cast ballots in the first round that saw the lowest turnout in the Islamic Republic's history. (AP Photo)

Reformist candidate for the Iran's presidential election Masoud Pezeshkian clenches his fist after casting his vote as he is accompanied by former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, left, at a polling station in Shahr-e-Qods near Tehran, Iran, Friday, July 5, 2024. Iranians are voting in a runoff election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a May helicopter crash in the country’s northwest along with the foreign minister and several other officials. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Reformist candidate for the Iran's presidential election Masoud Pezeshkian waves as he arrives to vote at a polling station in Shahr-e-Qods near Tehran, Iran, Friday, July 5, 2024. Iranians began voting Friday in a runoff election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi, killed in a helicopter crash last month, as public apathy has become pervasive in the Islamic Republic after years of economic woes, mass protests and tensions in the Middle East. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

This combination of photos shows Iranian presidential election candidates Masoud Pezeshkian, left, a reformist lawmaker and a former Health Minister, and Saeed Jalili, a hard-line former senior nuclear negotiator, during their campaigns, in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)

REDFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — It was the perfect place to welcome the endorsement of the firefighters union — a gleaming new firehouse in a blue-collar town just outside of Detroit in the key battleground state of Michigan.

But by the time Kamala Harris showed up in Redford Township on Friday, there was no endorsement waiting for her.

By a slim margin, the International Association of Firefighters declined to back any candidate, a reminder of the Democratic nominee’s struggle to lock down the same support from organized labor that President Joe Biden won four years ago. The Teamsters also balked at an endorsement last month.

Harris is still gaining more endorsements than she’s losing. National teachers unions, building trade unions, the AFL-CIO and the United Auto Workers backed the vice president shortly after Biden ended his run for a second term. And the leader of the Michigan firefighters union, Matthew Sahr, showed up for Harris in Redford Township — although not to bestow the endorsement.

"We could have chosen to stay away. But what kind of message would that send?” Sahr said.

A spokesman for the union declined Friday to comment beyond a previously released statement that said there would be no endorsement for Harris or her opponent, former President Donald Trump.

“The vice president is proud to have the support of organized labor, including firefighters across key battlegrounds like those who joined her in Michigan Friday,” said Harris campaign spokesman Brian Fallon. “She is the only candidate in this race who always stands with workers and has fought to protect overtime pay, worker pensions, and the right to organize.”

What unfolded nonetheless reflects the shifting loyalties in American politics as Harris vies with Trump for support among working-class voters who for years could be more solidly counted on to support Democrats.

Still, Harris didn't mince words when she spoke at the firehouse, saying Trump "has been a union-buster his entire career” and would launch a “full-on attack” against organized labor.

Harris said Trump supports “right-to-work” laws that often make it more difficult to unionize, and said he had weakened federal employees’ unions. While he was president, Trump used a series of 2018 executive orders designed to reduce those unions’ powers to collectively bargain.

He has expressed support for right-to-work since his initial run for president in 2016 — while also making comments more generally supportive of labor rights when speaking to union audiences since then.

Harris also accused the former president of “making the same empty promises to the people of Michigan that he did before, hoping you will forget how he let you down.”

Her remarks followed U.S. dockworkers suspending their strike in hopes of reaching a new contract, sparing the country a damaging episode of labor unrest that could have rattled the economy. A tentative agreement that has been hailed by Harris was reached to raise salaries, although other issues still need to be resolved.

The vice president later addressed an evening rally in Flint. She spoke after basketball legend Magic Johnson, who said “nobody is going to outwork her,” and UAW President Shawn Fain, who described Trump as “a scab.”

Harris said that, unlike what Trump says about the Biden administration’s rules on electric vehicles, “I will never tell you what kind of car you have to drive.”

“But here’s what I will do, I will invest in communities like Flint,” she said.

Harris also criticized Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, after Vance, while campaigning in Michigan on Wednesday, refused to commit to continue federal support going to a GM plant in Lansing, Michigan's state capital.

“Donald Trump's running mate suggested that if Trump wins, he might let the Grand River Assembly Plant in Lansing close down,” Harris said as the crowd booed.

She said that, by contrast, the Biden administration had fought to keep the plant open, adding, “Michigan, we, together, fought hard for those jobs and you deserve a president who won't put them at risk.”

Questions remain, though, about whether Harris can cement backing from most rank-and-file union members.

Justin Pomerville, the business manager at UA Local 85 in Michigan, said 70% of his members’ work hours are tied to the CHIPS and Science Act, which the Biden administration championed and pumped billions of dollars into semiconductor manufacturing.

The workers lay complex networks of pipes that carry exhaust, water and chemicals through high-tech facilities. However, Pomerville said some members aren’t aware of the connection between their jobs and the legislation.

“Unless someone tells them they’re working because of that, they don’t know,” he said.

The Democrats, meanwhile, have increased their support among white-collar professionals while Republicans try to make inroads among voters who didn’t attend college.

During a rally in Saginaw, Michigan, on Thursday, Trump said Republicans are now “the party of the American worker,” glossing over his anti-union record as president.

The former president also made a trip to Flint last month in an event billed as focusing on the auto industry, a pillar of the battleground state. The two candidates have been in the same cities — and in some cases the exact same venues — within days or weeks of each other.

Trump spent Friday in Georgia with Gov. Brian Kemp, the latest sign that he's patched up his rocky relationship with the top Republican in a key battleground state. The former president and the governor appeared in Evans, Georgia, standing before pallets of goods including bottled water, diapers and paper towels.

“I have no doubt that whatever can be done is going to be done," Trump said. "It’s a lot of effort. It’s a very heartbreaking situation.”

Later Fri day, he held a town hall in Fayetteville in another storm-ravaged state, North Carolina. Speaking to an audience comprised largely of people with military connections, he pledged to change the name of nearby Fort Liberty back to its prior name, Fort Bragg. The base, one of the U.S. military's largest, was rechristened in 2022 in a push to rename military installations named for Confederate service members.

Trump repeated his promise to fire “woke generals," blasted the Biden administration's chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan and said he'd make it easier for veterans to seek medical care outside the Veterans Administration health care system.

One man, introduced as a Vietnam War veteran named Dwight, gave Trump the Purple Heart he was awarded for injuries sustained while serving. He referenced the bullet that grazed Trump's ear during a rally in Pennsylvania and Trump's response.

“I couldn’t think of anybody more deserving to have a Purple Heart," Dwight said to Trump. "You took it, you laid down there, you got back up and the first words out of your mouth were ‘fight, fight, fight.’ You didn’t even have anything to shoot back at him.”

Trump got a series of deferments to avoid the draft during the Vietnam War, including one obtained with a physician’s letter saying he had bone spurs in his feet. In the 1990s, he said trying to avoid sexually transmitted infections was “my personal Vietnam.”

Weissert reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Meg Kinnard in Fayetteville, North Carolina and Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix contributed.

Magic Johnson speaks at a campaign rally for Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris at the Dort Financial Center in Flint, Mich., Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during an event at the Redford Township Fire Department North Station in Redford Township, Mich., Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump shakes hands with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp at a temporary relief shelter as he visits areas impacted by Hurricane Helene, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Evans, Ga. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Campaign t-shirts and flags are for sale before a campaign rally for Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris at the Dort Financial Center in Flint, Mich., Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Campaign pins for sale are pictured before a campaign rally for Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris at the Dort Financial Center in Flint, Mich., Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives at Augusta Regional Airport to visit areas impacted by Hurricane Helene, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Attendees listen as Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during an event at the Redford Township Fire Department North Station in Redford Township, Mich., Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump greets people at a temporary relief shelter as he visits areas impacted by Hurricane Helene, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Evans, Ga. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, in foreground at left, takes a photo with attendees after speaking during an event at the Redford Township Fire Department North Station in Redford Township, Mich., Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

People line the road as Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a temporary relief shelter as he visits areas impacted by Hurricane Helene, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Evans, Ga. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Supporters of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, including Carrie Charlick in the white shirt at right, cheer with members of the Harris campaign staff as they line up to enter the Dort Financial Center for a rally in Flint, Mich., Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

People line the road as Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a temporary relief shelter as he visits areas impacted by Hurricane Helene, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Evans, Ga. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump greets people at a temporary relief shelter as he visits areas impacted by Hurricane Helene, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Evans, Ga. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump greets people at a temporary relief shelter as he visits areas impacted by Hurricane Helene, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Evans, Ga. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump shakes hands with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp at a temporary relief shelter as he visits areas impacted by Hurricane Helene, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Evans, Ga. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during an event at the Redford Township Fire Department North Station in Redford Township, Mich., Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump talks with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp during a briefing at the Columbia County Emergency Management Agency as he visits areas impacted by Hurricane Helene, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Evans, Ga. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris waves as she boards Air Force Two at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Romulus, Mich., Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as he arrives at Augusta Regional Airport to visit areas impacted by Hurricane Helene, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives at Augusta Regional Airport to visit areas impacted by Hurricane Helene, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the Redford Township Fire Department North Station, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Redford Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the Redford Township Fire Department North Station, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Redford Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event at the Ryder Center at Saginaw Valley State University, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in University Center, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris waves as she departs after speaking at a campaign rally at Ripon College, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Ripon, Wis. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)